For years, companies from the UK and Northern Ireland have made up a significant group among Interzoo exhibitors. A look at their buoyant national pet market shows two major developments: The population of smaller pets is growing significantly and products with natural ingredients and premium products are gaining in importance. A close look on recent developments in the UK pet market.
57 percent of UK households were home to at least one pet in 2022. Although the total number of pets (38 million) has increased by 9 percent compared to the previous year, the total number of households owning a pet has seen a slight decrease (-2.2 million). This is due to increased costs of living faced by many UK households, a recent Euromonitor study says.
According to UK Pet Food’s annual pet population data , dogs and cats remain the most popular of the 38 million pets in British households. In terms of dog population, the UK ranks second in Europe, only surpassed by Germany. Cats, small dogs and rodents, are in particularly high demand in the UK, according to Euromonitor. UK Petfood data even found a 50 percent increase in the population of rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters compared to 2021.
Market research: The UK pet care sector
How does this shift to smaller, more affordable pets effect the UK pet market? Total sales figures remain high: The market recorded total sales of 6.7 billion pounds (7.8 billion euros) in 2022. According to UK Petfood’s figures, petfood, the largest sales item, generated a market value of 3.8 billion pounds in 2022 – a 22 percent rise compared to the previous year. This makes the UK petfood sector the biggest in Europe, surpassed only by the US and China on a global scale. Cat food and dog food account for the largest share of sales with 1.8 billion pounds resp. 2.1 billion euros (dogs) and 1.4 billion pounds / 1.6 billion euros (cats). Other high-turnover market segments were veterinary services (2.4 billion pounds resp. 2.8 billion euros) and accessories (1 billion pounds resp. 1.2 billion euros).
Sustainability and premium products
Increasingly, sustainability gains importance when it comes to purchasing decisions of UK pet owners. According to UK Petfood, half of British pet owners believe that pets are essential to their mental well-being and consider them to be part of the family. Thus, pet owners are also open to more expensive products, especially if they focus on natural and sustainable ingredients. This group of pet owners attaches great importance to individual advice in the shop - one of the possible reasons for the registered increase in retail shops in the UK. Leading UK retail groups have increased the number of their shops across the island to compete with the emerging online sector, which also shows a trend towards specialised product groups, including sustainable products and those with natural ingredients.
UK Country pavilion at Interzoo 2024
For years, exhibitors and visitors from the UK have shown great interest in Interzoo. The UK country pavilion was the first national community pavilion at an Interzoo, back in 1964. In 2022, almost four percent of all visitors came from the UK. On the exhibitor side, the UK and Northern Ireland was one of the larger country participations from abroad, with a total of 100 exhibitors. Last year, the pavilion organised by Pet Quip already included 44 exhibitors.
Interzoo is looking forward to welcoming the UK pet industry back to the Nuremberg exhibition grounds in 2024 (7 – 10 may) and to once again representing the diversity of various national markets as the world's leading trade fair for the sector!
